Spending time with families is always a highlight of my ministry here in Bogota. Getting to celebrate birthdays, to eat lunch together, and to see my students with their families at their houses is such a blessing. Here are a few stories and pictures about how God is working through these special times.
1. Alex's going away party: One of my students, Alex, is moving and the 3rd Grade families threw a surprise party for his family to pray and say good-bye. Claudia, the mom, spoke and she began to cry as she told of how God had finally worked in her heart after two years to be content and happy here in Bogota. They are from El Salvador and the Lord has now called them to go and serve in Honduras. Claudia said that the Lord has called her to love not just her country, but "Todo Mi Tierra" (or, all of God's creation/land/people). She then went on to say how the teachers at ECA are an inspiration because their love for God comes first as they leave their families and move to a different country.
This made me cry because it was very convicting words for me to hear. Having an emotional week due to missing people back home, feeling sick, and a busy two weeks at school with parent/teacher conferences and Fall Festival made me start to loose my focus. The question before me was, "Will you give up everything to follow Jesus? Even hard things like relationships back home?" I know that Jesus is worth everything - but my heart and emotions were telling me something different.
I was able to talk with Claudia and tell her how much her words meant to me. She asked about my story of coming to Colombia - which I told her how many questions and excuses I had thought of when praying about following the Lord in this way. These concerns were met with a resounding peace that God would provide and take care of everything should I choose to trust him and GO!!
Having our hope set on the Living God is the only place it should be. Putting our life in his hands is always a safe place to be. Very thankful for this reminder this week :-)
2. Serving at Barrio Egypto with CDC: My church here in Bogota spent this past Saturday at a ministry called Buena Semilla (Good Seed) in Barrio Egypto. This ministry is an after school program and center to help struggling and poor children who have no other support in their lives. Their parents are not always involved and they need a safe place to come and just be kids. What a privilege to go and serve for a few hours with my friends to show the love of Christ to these children.
We played games and then fed the kids a nutritious meal of chicken nuggets, apple, chips and of course the favorite... ketchup!! The precious brothers and sisters picture with me on the right LOVED ketchup so much that my friend, Jenny, had to sit down and stay there with her plate full for them to dip EVERYTHING - including Doritos :-)
This ministry is led by one of my student's families. It was neat to connect and talk more with the dad of this student who needs extra love and care. To see him and his ministry gave me a fresh perspective on his relationship with his son. Praising God that relationships are being built for the good of my precious 3rd Grade students.
It was also amazing to see my friends here pour themselves out to those in need in their own country. What servant hearts they have and how wonderful to know that the church in Colombia has believers willing to intercede for their own people. Thank God for the opportunity to encourage them and serve alongside them.
3. Christian Character Day:
Every Fall, we take the time to celebrate Christians that have influenced our lives. We call it Christian Character Day. Can you guess who we are dressed as?
We learned from these men and women that it takes sacrifice and humility to follow and love the Lord. Their examples show us how worthy Jesus is for us to give our lives to him in any way he asks.
Prayers and Praises:
Attitude and Respect of my students - that the Lord would continue to work in their hearts to love, obey, and serve Jesus.
Dealing with the transient lifestyle of a missionary that is always changing and being ok with those changes.
Maria and I are having a difficult time finding a time to do discipleship that really works and gives us quality time together - pray that this works out quickly and that God would provide a time for us to meet together :-)
So blessed by your support and by the precious blood of Jesus,
Nothing is possible without Him,
Carrie
No comments:
Post a Comment